Berringsland General Election, May 2010
The '''2010 Berringsland General Election '''has been called for May 30, 2010, after the dissolution of the Provisional Assembly. It will be the first democratic election in the nation for over thirty years. Five parties and a number of independents will competed for 130+ seats. The Outcome of the Election was a Hung Parliament, with the Liberal Republicans holding, arguably, the balance of power - Christian Democrats were largest party, yet performed well below there target. The Big Surprises of the Election were the United Left, who came 2% behind the Chrisdems, and gained 48 seats. Background After passage of the Constitution of Berringsland in the week before, First Minister Roland Knightly had already indicated that he intended to seek dissolution at the end of his final term as First Minister of the Provisional Government. In line with this intention, the First Minister asked the Governor-General to dissolve the Provisional Assembly in preparation for the first democratic elections in over 30 years, to be held on May 30 to all seats in the House of Assembly. It was set to be a historic election: the Christian Democrats had a comfortable lead in the polls over their closest opponents, but they were frequently under fire from all opposition parties. Nevertheless, Australian analyst Patrick Finniss remarked that ''"'if anyone is going to achieve a majority in the new assembly it would be the CDs," ''but that with substantial opposition taking shape, there was still everything to play for. Nevertheless, both the United Left and the Christian Democrats entered the campaign on a big momentum wave over various issues and high morale. Parties and leaders Since their founding, the Christian Democrats have been the leading party in Berringsland's Provisional Government, being led by their leader, First Minister Roland Knightly. They have always enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls, never falling below 25% in the run-up to the election despite a multitude of attacks on them and their leader. The Christian Democrats, keen on developing a status as the 'natural party of government', have partially succeeded by leading what was perceived to be a consensual government in a tough time period, leading to speculations that they might even defy all expectations and win an outright majority. In the run-up to the campaign, the Christian Democrats were on top in all but two provinces, and the final poll showed them with a massive lead in Lewisia of 40%. Their Party Conference was perceived as a success, bringing extra resources and energy for the campaign and launching their manifesto. Although towards the end of the campaign, the Christian Democrats campaign tailed off, and began to slow. The Liberal Republicans enjoyed a healthy poll rating, starting the campaign at 20-22%, more than most Liberal Parties in the rest of the world. There first blow came when Jean Cote defected with his Bloc Caldoche to the United Left, and the campaign lost momentum, although they did receive good wins in Elizabethtown, Houghton and New Kingsbridge and Whitehaven. In the end, they received a disappointing 18 seats, although they remained crucial in the formation of a Campaign First Week The United Left campaign unexpectedly snatched the momentum from the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Republican Party when Jean Cote and his Bloc Caldoche defected the Liberal Republicans for the United Left, leading to a leading Caldoche paper endorsing the United Left. This overshadowed, but did not quite extinguish, the effect of the upbeat, statesmanlike campaign kick-off speeches from the ChristDems' Roland Knightly and the LibReps' Giles Caldwell-Smyth, although the move was widely perceived to undermine the Liberal Republican campaign.